Converter

ABSTRACT

A converter comprises: a housing; a plurality of heat generating elements arranged at one surface of the housing; and a fluid channel arranged at the other surface of the housing, wherein the fluid channel includes an inlet and an outlet which connect and pass through an outside and an inside of the housing, is formed by a single line from the inlet to the outlet, has a constant cross-sectional area, and is arranged at a position where the fluid channel overlaps the plurality of heat generating elements in a vertical direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage application of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/KR2018/003148, filed Mar. 19, 2018, whichclaims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Korean Application Nos.10-2017-0035354, filed Mar. 21, 2017; and 10-2017-0086430, filed Jul. 7,2017; the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a converter.

BACKGROUND ART

As electrical devices of automobiles, engine electrical devices(starting devices, ignition devices, charging devices) and equalizingdevices are generally used, however, recently, vehicles have become moreelectronically controlled, so that it becomes a trend that most ofsystems including chassis electrical devices are electricalized andelectronized.

Various electrical devices such as lamps, audio, heaters, airconditioners, and the like that are being installed in automobiles aresupplied with power from the battery when the automobiles are stopped,and supplied with power from the generator when driving, and at thistime, the power generation capacity of the 14V power system is used asthe normal power source voltage.

In recent years, with the development of the information technologyindustry, various new technologies (motor-driven power steering,Internet, etc.) aiming to increase the convenience of automobiles havebeen applied to vehicles, and it is expected that the development of newtechnologies that will make full use of current automobile systems willcontinue.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), soft or hard type, is installed with alow-voltage DC-DC converter (DC-DC converter) for supplying a full load(12V). In addition, the DC-DC converter, which serves as an alternatorfor general gasoline vehicles, reduces the high voltage of the mainbattery (usually a high-voltage battery of 144V or more) and supplies12V for the loads of the electrical devices.

DC-DC converter refers to an electronic circuit device that converts aDC current source of a certain voltage to a DC current source of adifferent voltage, and has been used in various fields such as atelevision receiver, an electrical device of an automobile, and thelike.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a converter according toa prior art.

Referring to FIG. 1, the outer appearance of a converter 1 according tothe prior art is formed by a housing 8. A plurality of heat generatingelements for generating heat is provided on one surface of the housing 8and a refrigerant fluid channel 2 is formed on the other surface of thehousing 8 so that the refrigerant for absorbing the generated heatflows.

A refrigerant fluid channel 2 forms a path defined from the refrigerantinlet 4 to the refrigerant outlet 5 such that the refrigerant circulateson the other surface of the housing 8. The refrigerant inlet 4 and therefrigerant outlet 5 are formed spaced apart from each other on the sidesurface of the housing 8. Therefore, the refrigerant flowing into therefrigerant inlet 4 absorbs the heat of the converter 1 along therefrigerant fluid channel 2 and flows out to the refrigerant outlet 5.

A cover 3 for covering the refrigerant fluid channel 2 is coupled to theother surface of the housing 8. A sealing member (not shown) may beprovided between the cover 3 and the housing 8 to inhibit therefrigerant from flowing out to the outside. The refrigerant inlet 4 andthe refrigerant outlet 5 may respectively be coupled with a separatepipe or provided with a connector 6 for sealing.

According to the above-described prior art, since a separate sealingmember is additionally disposed to prevent inhibit the refrigerant fromflowing out to the outside, there is a problem that the number ofcomponents increases and the manufacturing cost increases. In addition,since the cover 3 for covering the refrigerant fluid channel 2 isprovided separately from the housing 8, there is a disadvantage that aseparate process for assembling between the components is required.

In addition, a plurality of heat generating elements for generating heatare disposed inside or outer surface of the converter. Examples of theheat generating elements comprise a printed circuit board on which aplurality of electronic components are mounted, a transformer forvoltage regulation, and an inductor for obtaining an inductance. Theheat generated from the above elements may cause overloading of eachelectronic component, thereby causing malfunction of the settingfunction, and causing failure.

Therefore, various methods for dissipating heat of the converter havebeen proposed. The heat generated from the heat generating elements isabsorbed by the refrigerant by forming a refrigerant fluid channel inthe converter itself for circulating the refrigerant, or providing aseparate refrigerant tube wherein the refrigerant is circulated. Also, atechnique has been proposed in which heat dissipating fins are formed onthe outer surface of the converter to increase the area and thereby theheat generated inside is discharged to the outside.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Subject

The present embodiment is intended to provide a converter capable ofreducing the manufacturing cost in accordance with the reduction in thenumber of components. Also, it is intended to provide a convertercapable of efficiently dissipating heat generated from heat generatingelements.

Technical Solution

As an embodiment, a converter comprises: a housing; a plurality of heatgenerating elements arranged at one surface of the housing; and a fluidchannel arranged at the other surface of the housing, wherein the fluidchannel includes an inlet and an outlet which connect and pass throughan outside and an inside of the housing, is formed by a single line fromthe inlet to the outlet, has a constant cross-sectional area, and isarranged at a position where the fluid channel overlaps the plurality ofheat generating elements in a vertical direction.

In the fluid channel, a cooling pipe in which refrigerant flowscorresponding to the shape of the fluid channel may be arranged.

The both ends of the cooling pipe may be exposed towards the outside ofthe housing from the inlet and the outlet.

The cooling pipe and the housing may be integrally formed by an insertinjection molding method.

A cover that couples with the other surface so as to surround the fluidchannel may be further included.

The cover may be formed integrally with the housing and may be the samematerial as the housing.

The housing may comprise a stepped portion formed on the other surfacecorresponding to the shape of the flow channel, and a plurality ofradiating fins formed by being protruded from an area other than thestepped portion.

The surface facing the heat generating elements of the innercircumferential surface of the flow channel may be a planar surface.

The cooling pipe may have a plurality of linear portions and a pluralityof bent portions connecting the linear portions, wherein the flow rateof the refrigerant flowing through the linear portions may be constant.

The bent portions may be disposed opposite to a region facing the heatgenerating elements.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, since a cooling pipe for refrigerantflow is integrally formed with the housing, neither a separate cover nora component for sealing is required, and thus there is an advantage inthat the number of components is reduced and the manufacturing cost isreduced.

In addition, since the region, where the heat generating elements arearranged in the cooling pipe and the fluid channel, is heat dissipatedintensively through the plurality of linear portions and the bentportions, there is an advantage that the heat radiation efficiency canbe increased. Particularly, since a planar surface portion is formed atthe end surface of the cooling pipe and the fluid channel facing theheat generating elements, there is an advantage that the cross-sectionalarea for heat dissipation can be increased.

In addition, since a bracket is brought into contact with a plurality ofregions of the case, heat generated inside the case can be dissipatedefficiently.

Particularly, since the regions where the bracket is in contact with thecase are symmetrical with respect to the center of the case, it isadvantageous in that uniform heat dissipation becomes possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a converter according toa prior art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the converter according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one surface of the converteraccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing other surface of the converteraccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the converter according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a side surface of a housingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling pipe according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a converter according to a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of theconverter according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a bracket according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a case according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a combined state of the caseand the bracket according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the bracket according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

Since the present invention, which will be described below, may besubject to various modifications and may have various exemplaryembodiments, some specific exemplary embodiments are illustrated in thedrawings and will be described in detail in the detailed description.

This, however, is by no means to restrict the invention to the specificembodiments, it is to be understood as embracing all modifications,equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. If the specific description of the related art in thefollowing description of the present invention that are determined toobscure the gist of the invention, the detailed description thereof isomitted.

The terms used in the present specification are merely used to describeparticular exemplary embodiments, and are not intended to limit thepresent invention. Expressions in singular forms include plural formsunless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, theterms “comprise,” “have,” and the like are intended to specify thefeatures, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or one that existscombinations thereof described in the specification, but are notintended to preclude the one or more other features, numbers, steps,actions, components, parts, or the presence or possibility ofcombinations thereof.

Further, terms such as “first”, “second” may be used to separatelydescribe various elements, but the above elements shall not berestricted to the above terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from the other.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the converter according to an embodimentof the present invention; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing onesurface of the converter according to the embodiment of the presentinvention; and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing other surface ofthe converter according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a converter 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention includes a housing 10, a plurality of heatgenerating elements 14, 16, and 18 arranged on one surface 12 of thehousing 10, and a fluid channel 30 disposed on the other surface 11 ofthe housing 10.

The converter according to the present embodiment is an electricaldevice provided in an automobile, an air conditioner, and the like, andis an electronic circuit device that performs conversion from a powersource of a certain voltage to a power source of a different voltage.For example, the converter 100 may be a DC-DC converter. However, theconfiguration according to the present embodiment is not limitedthereto, and can be applied to various electrical devices including theabove-described types.

The housing 10 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and includes afluid channel 30 in which a cooling pipe 20 is disposed and a pluralityof heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18. The heat generating elements14, 16, and 18 are arranged on one surface 12 of the housing 10 togenerate heat according to the operation of the converter 100. At thistime, a separate cover (not shown) for covering the heat generatingelements 14, 16, and 18 may be coupled to the one surface 12 of thehousing 10.

Alternatively, it is possible to configure in a way that a plurality ofinternal spaces which are mutually divided is formed in the housing 10so that the plurality of heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18 aredisposed in the internal space adjacent to the one surface 12, and thefluid channel 30 is formed in the internal space adjacent to the othersurface 11.

The heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18 may include a substrate 14on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted, a transformer16 for controlling the voltage, and an inductor 18 for obtaining theinductance. It is to be understood that any configuration which isdisposed in the converter 100 and generate heat according to theoperation is included as the heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18 ofthe embodiment of the present invention.

A fluid channel 30 disposed with a refrigerant pipe 20 through whichrefrigerant flows is formed on the other surface 11 of the housing 10.Due to the fluid channel 30, the other surface 11 of the housing 10 maybe formed in a way that the region where the fluid channel 30 is formedto be more protruded than the other regions.

Meanwhile, a cover 11 a may be disposed on the other surface 11 of thehousing 10 for covering the fluid channel 30 through the coupling withthe other surface 11. The cover 11 a may be formed of the same materialas the housing 10, and may be integrally formed with the housing 10.

As described above, a stepped portion 31 may be provided on the othersurface 11 of the housing 10 so as to be protruded from the other regiondue to the fluid channel 30. One or more heat dissipating fins 70protruding from the other surface 11 are provided on the other surface11 of the housing 10 except for the stepped portion 31. The heatdissipating fins 70 are disposed in plural spaced apart from each otherto increase the cross-sectional area of the other surface 11 so that theheat generated in the heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18 can bemore easily discharged to the outside. Also, separate heat dissipatingfins 72 may be provided on the side surface of the housing 10 to expandthe cross-sectional area.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the converter according to theembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectionalview showing a side surface of a housing according to the embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, a fluid channel 30 disposed with thecooling pipe 20 is formed in the housing 10. Specifically, the fluidchannel 30 is formed by a single line from an inlet hole 19 a to anoutlet hole 19 b. That is, the side surface of the housing 10 is formedwith a through hole 19 for exposing both ends 22 and 24 of the coolingpipe 20 to the outside. The through hole 19 is a region defined by theinlet hole 19 a and the outlet hole 19 b and it is understood that aboundary between the fluid channel 30 and the outside of the housing 10is formed thereby. Since the fluid channel 30 is formed in a singleline, it is obvious that it is communicating with the inlet hole 19 aand the outlet hole 19 b inside of the housing 10.

The cross-sectional area of the fluid channel 30 is uniformly formedthroughout the entire section. In other words, the width of the innercircumferential surface of the fluid channel 30 may be uniformly formedin the entire region. It can also be understood that the cross-sectionalarea of the outer circumferential surface of the cooling pipe 20disposed in the fluid channel 30 is uniformly disposed. Since thecooling pipe 20 is disposed on the fluid channel 30, the shape andcross-sectional area of the fluid channel 30 are corresponding to theshape and the cross-sectional area of the cooling pipe 20. As a result,the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the cooling pipe 20 canbe relatively constant in the entire region. Therefore, since therefrigerant is not stagnated in a specific region, the housing 10 canhave a uniform temperature distribution over the entire region.

The fluid channel 30 and the cooling pipe 20 may be overlapped with eachother in a vertical direction with the plurality of heat generatingelements 14, 16 and 18 disposed on one surface 12 of the housing 10.That is, the plurality of heat generating elements 14, 16 and 18disposed on one surface 12 of the housing 10 may be positioned to facethe fluid channel 30 and the cooling pipe 20 respectively. To this end,the fluid channel 30 and the cooling pipe 20 may comprise linearportions and a plurality of bent portions connecting the linearportions.

In detail, both ends of the cooling pipe 20 through which therefrigerant flows are provided with an inlet 22 through which therefrigerant is introduced and an outlet 24 through which the refrigeranthaving undergone the heat exchange is discharged, respectively. Theinlet 22 is understood as one end of the cooling pipe 20 which isexposed to the outside of the housing 10 through the inlet hole 19 a andthe outlet 24 is understood as the other end of the cooling pipe 20which is exposed to the outside through the outlet hole 19 b.

A plurality of linear portions and a plurality of bent portions aredisposed between the inlet 22 and the outlet 24. For example, thecooling pipe 20 includes a first linear portion 25 a extendinghorizontally from the inlet 22, a first bent portion 25 b extendinginwardly from the end of the first linear portion 25 a, and a secondlinear portion 26 a extending horizontally from the end of the firstbent portion 25 b. Also, at the end of the second linear portion 26 a,the third linear portion 27 a, the second bent portion 27 b, the fourthlinear portion 28 a, the third bent portion 28 b, the fifth linearportion 29 a, and the like may further be included toward the outlet 24.The bent portion having a relatively large cross-sectional area isdisposed at a position being overlapped with the heat generatingelements 14, 16 and 18 in the vertical direction, so that the heatgenerated from the heat generating elements 14, 16 and 18 can beabsorbed more. That is, the fluid channel 30 and the cooling pipe 20 areconcentrated in the disposed region of the heat generating elements 14,16 and 18, which are relatively high temperature regions, so that theheat dissipation efficiency can be further increased.

Meanwhile, the cooling pipe 20 may be formed integrally with the housing10. That is, the cooling pipe 20 and the housing 10 can be integrallymanufactured by insert injection molding method. Therefore, a separatecover for covering the cooling pipe 20 is not required, and thus thereis an advantage that the number of components is reduced.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling pipe according to theembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a planar surface portion 29 a and a curved surfaceportion 29 b are formed in the cross-section of the cooling pipe 20according to the embodiment of the present invention. A planar surfaceportion and a curved surface portion are also formed on the innercircumferential surface of the fluid channel 30 so as to becorresponding to the planar surface portion 29 a and the curved surfaceportion 29 b. The planar surface portion 29 a is formed on a surface ofthe outer surface of the cooling pipe 20 facing the heat generatingelements 14, 16, and 18. Due to this, the planar surface portion 29 a isformed on the outer surface of the fluid channel 30 and the cooling pipe20 facing the heat generating elements 14, 16, and 18 so that thecross-sectional area is increased relative to the other regions and thusthere is an advantage that the refrigerant can absorb a larger amount ofheat.

According to the converter 100 having the above-described configuration,since the cooling pipe for refrigerant flow is integrally formed withthe housing, a separate cover or a component for sealing is unnecessaryand thus there is an advantage that the number of components is reduced,thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

In addition, since the regions, where the heat generating elements arearranged, are heat dissipated intensively through the plurality oflinear portions and the bent portions in the cooling pipe and the fluidchannel, there is an advantage that the heat radiation efficiency can beincreased. Particularly, since the planar surface portion is formed atthe end surface of the cooling pipe and the fluid channel facing theheat generating elements, there is an advantage that the cross-sectionalarea for heat dissipation can be increased.

Hereinafter, a converter according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention will be described.

In this embodiment, the other portions are the same as those of thefirst embodiment, but there is a difference in the heat dissipatingstructure. Hereinafter, only the characteristic portions of the secondembodiment will be described, and the description of the firstembodiment will be referred to in other portions.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a converter according to a secondembodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is an exploded perspectiveview of a converter according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention; and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the rear surface ofthe converter according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, a converter 200 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention comprises: a housing 211; one ormore heating elements 114 disposed on one surface of the housing 211;and a refrigerant fluid channel 222 disposed on the other surface of thehousing 211.

A converter 200 according to the present embodiment is an electricaldevice provided in an automobile, an air conditioner, and the like, andis an electronic circuit device that performs conversion from a powersource of a certain voltage to a power source of a different voltage.For example, the converter 200 may be a DC-DC converter. However, theconfiguration according to the present embodiment is not limitedthereto, and can be applied to various electrical devices including theabove-described types.

The housing 211 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and comprises arefrigerant fluid channel 222 in which a refrigerant flows, and one ormore heat generating elements 114. In FIG. 8, shows an example in whichone heat generating element is disposed.

Examples of the heat generating element may include a printed circuitboard on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted, atransformer for adjusting a voltage, and an inductor for obtaining aninductance.

In detail, a receiving portion 212 on which the heat generating elements114 are disposed is formed on a surface of the housing 211. Thereceiving portion 212 is formed in a groove shape having a bottomsurface on one surface of the housing 211 to form a space in which theheating elements 114 are disposed. A receiving groove 213 may be formedon a bottom surface of the receiving portion 212 for receiving a case110 which accommodates the heating elements 114. The receiving groove213 may be recessed from the bottom surface of the receiving portion 212to accommodate a portion of the lower portion of the case 110. After aplurality of heat generating elements are disposed on the receivingportion 212, a separate cover may be coupled to one surface of thehousing 211 to cover the receiving portion 212.

A refrigerant fluid channel 222 through which the refrigerant flows isformed on the other surface of the housing 211. The refrigerant fluidchannel 222 may be divided through one or more partitions 223 beingprotruded from the other surface of the housing 211. One end of therefrigerant fluid channel 222 communicates with a refrigerant inlet 224formed on a side surface of the housing 211 and the other end of therefrigerant fluid channel 222 communicates with refrigerant outlet 226formed in the region spaced apart from the refrigerant inlet 224 in theside surface of the housing 211. Therefore, the refrigerant flowing fromthe refrigerant inlet 224 into the housing 211 circulates along therefrigerant fluid channel 222. The refrigerant having undergone the heatexchange may be discharged to the outside of the housing 211 through therefrigerant outlet 226. As the refrigerant flows along the other surfaceof the housing 211, heat generated from one or more of the heatgenerating elements 114 disposed on one surface of the housing 211 canbe dissipated.

Meanwhile, a cooling pipe 20 according to the first embodiment may bedisposed instead of forming the refrigerant fluid channel 222 on theother surface of the housing 211. At this time, the cooling pipe 20 isaccommodated in the housing 211 and may be protruded from the othersurface of the housing 211. That is, the cooling pipe 20 according tothe first embodiment can be applied to the converter 200 according tothe present embodiment, and its structure will be included in thetechnical spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a case according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, one or more heating elements 114 are provided inthe converter 200 as described above. The heating elements 114 may beaccommodated in the case 110 and configured as a module integrated withthe case 110.

In detail, the case 110 comprises an upper case 115 and a lower case117. An inner space 112 in which the heat generating elements 114 aredisposed is formed by the coupling of the upper case 115 and the lowercase 117. Openings are formed on both side surfaces of the case 110 sothat the heat generating elements 114 can be exposed to the outside ofthe case 110.

The case 110 is coupled to the receiving groove 213 of one surface ofthe housing 211, as described above. Due to this, the lower surface anda portion of the side surface of the lower case 117 can be accommodatedin the receiving groove 213.

Meanwhile, a bracket 120 may be coupled to the case 110. Referring toFIG. 11, the bracket 120 is coupled to the upper side of the case 110.More specifically, the bracket 120 may be coupled to cover the uppersurface and one side surface of the outer circumferential surface of thecase 110.

The bracket 120 is coupled to the case 110 to dissipate heat generatedin the case 110. That is, the bracket 120 is formed of a metal havinghigh thermal conductivity, and it can be understood that the bracket 120conducts the heat of the case 110 to the outside through the contactwith the case 110.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the bracket 120 will be described.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a combined state of the caseand the bracket according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention; and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the bracketaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 13, the bracket 120 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention may be formed by bending aplate-shaped plate at least eight times or more. The upper surface ofthe case 110 to which the bracket 120 is coupled is divided into ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction and when a directionhaving a relatively short length is referred to as a vertical direction,the length corresponding to the length in the vertical direction in thecross-section of the bracket may correspond to the length of the case110 in the vertical direction. When the bracket 120 is coupled, at leasta portion of the upper surface of the case 110 may be covered by thebracket 120.

In detail, the bracket 120 comprises: a first body 130; a second body140 having one end coupled to the first body 130 and the other endextending upward; a third body 150 having one end coupled to the otherend of the second body 140 and the other end extending so as to be incontact with the upper surface of the case 110; a fourth body 160 havingone end coupled to the other end of the third body 150 and the other endextending in a direction away from the upper surface of the case 110; afifth body 170 having one end coupled to the other end of the fourthbody 160 and the other end extending so as to be in contact with theother region of the upper surface of the case 110; and a sixth body 180having one end coupled to the other end of the fifth body 170 and theother end extending in a direction away from the upper surface of thecase 110. At this time, the bracket 120 is integrally molded and formedinto a single body.

In other words, the bracket 120 has a plurality of bent portions. It isunderstood that the plurality of bent portions are formed in the regionswhere the first to sixth bodies 180 meet each other. At this time, abent portion being contacted with the upper surface of the case 110 maybe disposed between the third body 150 and the fourth body 160 among theplurality of bent portions, and between the fifth body 170 and the sixthbody 180. This will be described later.

The first body 130 is disposed parallel to the upper surface of the case110 to fix the bracket 120 to the receiving portion 212 of the housing211. In some cases, the first body 130 may form a planar surface same asthe lower surface of the case 110. A bracket coupling part 217 (FIG. 9)may be provided in a region of the receiving portion 212 facing thefirst body 130. The bracket 120 is coupled to the bracket coupling part217 by a screw P so that its position can be fixed. To this end, thefirst body 130 may be formed with a screw hole 132 through which thescrew P is inserted. The screw P is inserted into the screw hole 132 andinserted into the bracket coupling part 217 so that the relativeposition of the bracket 120 with respect to the case 110 can be fixed,and can be firmly fixed on the bottom surface of the receiving portion212.

The second body 140 is extended upward from the end portion of the firstbody 130. The second body 140 is disposed to cover one side surface ofthe case 110. At this time, a space portion 142 may be formed betweenthe second body 140 and the side surface of the case 110 covered by thesecond body 140. The space 142 is understood as an area formed by theside surface of the case 110 and the second body 140 being separatedfrom each other. As a result, heat generated inside the case 110 can beefficiently discharged through the space 142.

The third body 150 has one end coupled to the other end of the secondbody 140 extending upward and the other end coupled to the upper surfaceof the case 110. Accordingly, the third body 150 may form an inclinedsurface when the bracket 120 is viewed from the side surface. Theinclination angle of the third body 150 may be defined as θ1. Also, inthe upper surface of the case 110, the straight line distance from thepoint where the other end of the third body 150 is in contact with theinner side surface of the case 110 to the upper surface of the case 110may be defined as L1.

One end of the fourth body 160 is coupled to the other end of the thirdbody 150. Therefore, it can be understood that one end of the fourthbody 160 is coupled to the upper surface of the case 110. The other endof the fourth body 160 may be extended away from the upper surface ofthe case 110, that is, upward. At this time, the direction in which theother end of the fourth body 160 is extended may be a direction awayfrom the second body 140. Accordingly, the fourth body 160 may also forman inclined surface when the bracket 120 is viewed from the sidesurface.

The fifth body 170 has one end coupled to the other end of the fourthbody 160 and the other end coupled to the upper surface of the case 110.Accordingly, the bracket 120 has contact areas at two places through theupper surface of the case 110, the other end of the fifth body 170, andthe other end of the third body 150, respectively. Since the fifth body170 also includes the other end being in contact with the upper surfaceof the case 110 from one end spaced apart upward from the upper surfaceof the case 110, an inclined surface is formed when viewed from theside. At this time, the angle formed by the fifth body 170 with theupper surface of the case 110 may be defined as θ2. At this time, theangle θ2 is formed larger than the angle θ1. Due to this, the area ofthe bracket 120, which is in contact with the upper surface of the case110, can be symmetrical with respect to the center of the case 110.

The sixth body 180 has one end coupled to the other end of the fifthbody 170 and the other end extending in a direction away from the uppersurface of the case 110. The sixth body 180 may also form an inclinedsurface when the bracket 120 is viewed from the side. The sixth body 180may have a relatively shortest length as compared with the first tofifth bodies 130, 140, 150, 160, and 170.

Meanwhile, FIG. 9 illustrates only a portion of the upper surface of thecase 110 is covered by the third to sixth bodies 150, 160, 170 and 180.However, the extended length of the third to sixth bodies 150, 160, 170and 180 may be formed to correspond to the length of the case 110 in thehorizontal direction to cover the entire upper surface of the case 110.

As described above, the bracket 120 may be in contact with the uppersurface of the case 110 at a plurality of regions. In detail, thebracket 120 comprises: a first contact portion 124 to which the otherend of the third body 150 and one end of the fourth body 160 arecoupled; and a second contact portion 122 to which the other end of thefifth body 170 and one end of the first contact portion 180 is coupled,and in contact with the upper surface of the case 110 in two regionswhere the first and second contact portions 124 and 122 are located. Thefirst contact portion 124 and the second contact portion 122 may bewelded to the upper surface of the case 110 and fixed thereto.

Due to this, since the bracket 120 is in contact with a plurality ofregions of the case 110, the heat generated from the case 110 can bemore efficiently conducted to the bracket 120. Further, since thecooling surface is expanded by the bracket 120, there is an advantagethat the heat radiation efficiency of the converter 200 can beincreased.

The first contact portion 124 and the second contact portion 122 aredisposed at mutually symmetrical positions with respect to the center ofthe case 110. The first contact portion 124 and the second contactportion 122 are disposed symmetrically with respect to a virtual line L0connecting the center of the upper surface of the case 110 and thecenter of the lower surface of the case 110. In other words, thestraight line distance from the first contact portion 124 to theimaginary line L0 is the same as the straight line distance from thesecond contact portion 122 to the imaginary line L0.

Therefore, there is an advantage that the heat generated inside the case110 can be uniformly conducted through the first contact portion 124 andthe second contact portion 122 of the bracket 120. That is, since thefirst contact portion 124 and the second contact portion 122 aredisposed symmetrically with respect to the center of the case 110, thebracket 120 can perform heat dissipation of the converter 200 in a widerrange than the installed region, and thus there is an advantage that theheat dissipating efficiency can be increased.

It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments disclosed in thedrawings are merely examples of specific examples for the purpose ofunderstanding, and are not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that othermodifications based on the technical spirit of the present invention arepossible in addition to the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A converter comprising: a housing; aplurality of heat generating elements disposed in the housing; and apipe disposed in the housing and including an inlet and an outlet,wherein the pipe is formed in a tube shape with a constantcross-sectional area in a vertical direction from the inlet to theoutlet, wherein the pipe is disposed at a position overlapping with theplurality of heat generating elements in a vertical direction, whereinthe housing includes a fluid channel in which the pipe is disposed,wherein the pipe is surrounded by the fluid channel except for the inletand the outlet, wherein the converter comprises a cover surrounding thefluid channel, and wherein the housing includes a stepped portion formedcorresponding to the shape of the fluid channel.
 2. The converteraccording to claim 1, wherein the pipe comprises: a first straightportion extending horizontally from the inlet; a first bent portion bentinwardly from an end portion of the first straight portion; and a secondstraight portion extending horizontally from the end of the first bentportion.
 3. The converter according to claim 2, wherein both ends of thepipe are exposed towards the outside of the housing from the inlet andthe outlet.
 4. The converter according to claim 2, wherein the pipe andthe housing are integrally formed by an insert injection molding method.5. The converter according to claim 1, wherein the cover is formedintegrally with the housing and is the same material as the housing. 6.The converter according to claim 1, wherein a surface facing the heatgenerating elements of an inner circumferential surface of the fluidchannel is a planar surface.
 7. The converter according to claim 1,wherein the pipe has a plurality of linear portions and a plurality ofbending portions connecting the linear portions, wherein the flow rateof the refrigerant flowing through the linear portions is constant. 8.The converter according to claim 7, wherein the bent portions arearranged opposite to a region facing the heat generating elements. 9.The converter according to claim 1, wherein the pipe includes a flatportion and a curved portion, and the flat portion is disposed on anouter surface of the pipe facing the heat generating element.
 10. Theconverter according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of heat generatingelements include a transformer and an inductor.
 11. The converteraccording to claim 1, wherein a heat dissipation fin is disposed on aside of the housing.
 12. The converter according to claim 1, whereinthrough-holes are formed on side surfaces of the housing to protrudeboth ends of the pipe.
 13. The converter according to claim 1, whereinthe housing includes a plurality of heat dissipation fins protrudingfrom an area other than the stepped portion.
 14. A converter comprising:a housing; a plurality of heat generating elements disposed in thehousing; and a pipe disposed in the housing and including an inlet andan outlet, wherein the pipe is formed in a tube shape with a constantcross-sectional area in a vertical direction from the inlet to theoutlet, wherein the housing includes a fluid channel in which the pipeis disposed, wherein the pipe is surrounded by the fluid channel exceptfor the inlet and the outlet, and wherein the pipe and the housing areintegrally formed by an insert injection molding method.
 15. Theconverter according to claim 14, wherein the pipe is exposed to theoutside of the housing at the inlet and the outlet.
 16. The converteraccording to claim 14, wherein the housing includes a stepped portionformed corresponding to the shape of the fluid channel.
 17. Theconverter according to claim 16, wherein the housing includes aplurality of heat dissipation fins protruding from an area other thanthe stepped portion.